Paramedics and campus safety officers responded, and he was eventually removed from the stage after trying to continue his speech.

USC senior Tristan Camacho told the Times Nye collapsed in mid-sentence at the podium.

"Then after about 10 seconds, he popped back up with much gusto and asked everybody how long he was out for and went on with a story about how a similar thing happened to him that morning," Camacho told the Times.

Another student, USC senior Alastair Fairbanks, told the Times that, at first, nobody went to Nye's aid. He said students were texting and updating their Facebook and Twitter pages.